SPARKLE DESIGNS

I'm moving

2008-04-25T07:32:00.002-04:00

Well just my blog. Come visit me at my new pad.

www.sparkledesigns.typepad.com

Don't forget to update your readers, subscriptions and blog rolls. Can't wait to see you at the new place!

Party Time

2008-04-21T04:00:00.006-04:00

Did you ever have fondue parties back in the 70's? They seem to be all the rage again or at least they were for a while. I just love fondue or as Rachael calls it FUNdue!

I made this card a while ago, but just never got around to sharing it. I tried to think about the colors of the 70's. Remember the kitchens? My parents had the fabulous orange shag carpet when I was a child. I was so happy when they finally ripped it up! Wouldn't it be fun to have a 70's fondue party?

There is a lot going on here this week. Saturday is VMAA, if you don't know what I am talking about you need to sign up for A Muse Addicts. We are having a virtual stamp night with challenges and a surprise, but I can't tell you that now! You won't want to miss it though!! ;)

Also on Saturday, I will have some A Muse sneaks for you!!

A Muse Party Time clear stamps 7-PARTSM; A Muse notecards and twinkle stickers; Brilliance Black Ink; Copic Markers

new shoes

2008-04-15T18:22:00.008-04:00

For the past few weeks, I come home from work with aching feet and legs. It is at it's worst today. So I decided that I really needed to get new shoes because I will be doing A LOT of walking soon. Yeah I am doing the 3 Day, but I already have some shoes for that. But for this, I really needed CUTE shoes that are comfy. Well let me start at the beginning of the story.

I was chatting with Heather one day when she mentioned that she had to go to Europe soon. I don't remember the exact conversation *wink* I think she mentioned that her husband couldn't get off work this time and her mom didn't want to go. Well me and my big mouth, jokingly said "I'll go with you". She was like yeah come along. I was thinking uh huh sure. Then we were talking about when I get out of school and when we could go. I still couldn't believe that I would really be going to Europe. I told a few people "hey I MAY go to Europe...wouldnt that be cool, but I don't think it will really happen". Heather and I talked some more and decided "what the heck?...let's do it". Then I looked up some flights and they were way more than I could spend, so again I thought it wouldn't happen. We were looking into flying into Paris, but then decided to try Germany. Heather and I played around with some dates and found some cheap flights. I hit purchase and screamed "OMG I AM GOING TO EUROPE!!" I have always wanted to travel, but have never had the time or money. Not that I really do now, but sometimes when opportunity knocks, you just have to answer. We are flying into Germany then taking a European road trip with stops in Paris, Venice, Rome and a bunch of other little places I can't remember. Heather is the PLANNER girl and I am the OMG I AM GOING TO EUROPE girl.

So back to the shoes. I can't just wear sneakers to Europe. I was on the search for cute comfy shoes and you women know how difficult that is. And these shoes are gonna be doing a lot of walking in Europe. I am so excited!! Thanks for letting me tag along with you Heather!!

And for those of you that care, we have little countdowns. 49 DAYS TO EUROPE!!!

A Muse Admirer

2008-04-15T07:48:00.003-04:00

I got this fabulous package in the mail on Saturday from my A Muse Admirer over on A Muse Addicts. I love all the polka dots and she used Vespa Girl and Eiffel Tower stamps to decorate everything. Hmmm I wonder what I could use the journal...maybe card ieas, to write down things so I don't forget them or maybe a travel journal *wink*.

a little A Muse love

2008-04-14T05:00:00.007-04:00

Geeta had the great idea to put all her A Muse cards in an album. So of course, I had to steal her idea. I finally found the brown album that I wanted and just had decide how to decorate it. I went through my stash of paper but nothing seemed to be just right. Then it hit me ~ use A Muse Notecards doh! I cut some of my very favorite notecards to use and adhered them with Mod Podge. Of course you know anything I make needs a little glittery bling. I painted the letters brown and then covered them in glorious glitter. And TA DAAA I have a fabulouse place for all my cards. I just love it. The only problem is....ready for it?? .....it's already full! OH well guess I'll have to make a second edition *wink*

Here are some pictures of the inside of the book and the glittery letters. Now you should go make a book for yourself ;)

ETA: Sorry I didn't give you the details to begin with. This is an American Crafts 8 1/2 x 11 album in brown. Geeta found the pages on Ebay and we shared them. They are cd holders that hold both the cd and cover. I now have some 3 1/2 x 5 photo pages for my 4 bar cards. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, just shoot me an email.

gotta love the Muppets...

2008-04-12T11:11:00.003-04:00

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!"

Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies.

No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you.

But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test

Or in my case, a great chocolate cupcake!!

the journey is the reward...

2008-04-10T09:39:00.003-04:00

After all my Paris cards this week, I decided to *travel* to Italy today. I guess I should have told you how I made the background yesterday. I used the A Muse block stamp and inked it with Colorbox Chalk cateyes. I started with the lightest color and worked my way down so that I didn't get any dark colors on my light inks. I was talking about it with Heather and she thought I directly inked the paper. Good idea Heather. So I thought I would that technique with this card. I stamped the bridge right over the ink. I thought I would color the bridges, but decided that it looked just right so I just added some yellow Stickles to the lights.

Don't all these travel inspired cards make you wanna take a little vacation?!?!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

sunset in Paris

2008-04-09T09:51:00.002-04:00

I just love when you have an idea and it actually works on paper. The Eiffel Tower is one of my favorite stamps from A Muse~ haven't used it much lately, but am feeling very inspired by it these days. *wink* I was thinking about the tower all lit up at sunset when I thought of this card idea. I stamped the tower on a papaya notecard, cut it out and added some glitter. **gotta love the glitter** Doesn't this card just make you want to sit and watch the Eiffel Tower come to life with lights as the sun sets behind it!!

Did you see Heather's card? So cute and simple!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps

rainy day in Paris

2008-04-08T12:45:00.005-04:00

So yesterday I made the Paris card, then Jennie leaves a comment saying that the Eiffel Tower stamp is the Stamp of the Week on the Addicts site. I just HAD to make another Paris card *wink*. I was checking out the new banner on the A Muse blog, when I saw this. That Nina does some fabulous window displays. I just want to bring them home with me. I was inspired to make a rainy day in Paris card~ how fun would that be?!?! I colored Rainy Day Lisa's coat with my new Coral Copic ~ WOW what an awesome color it is! I added some clear spica to the tower. Here's a close up so you can see the sparkle better!

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

I have been working on a book for all my A Muse cards. I almost have it finished, so I will try to show you soon.

Inspired

2008-04-07T17:03:00.003-04:00

Did you see Heather's pictures of Paris on her blog? The pictures are so beautiful. You can just imagine that you are there! Not a bad thing to imagine huh? Well I was inspired and had to make a Paris card. You know I have to put the Vespa girl on any Europe inspired card that I make *wink*.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Cupcakes galore

2008-04-06T16:51:00.005-04:00

I woke this morning with a desire to bake. Now I have a list of things that I need to be doing other than baking, but I couldn't resist. I went through some cookbooks, but couldn't find anything that I wanted to make. What's a girl to do? I remembered that I had caught a little of the Martha show this week when I came home early and she was having Cupcake Week!! The show I saw had some yummy looking lemon cupcakes, but I knew I didn't have the stuff to make them. Then I found this!! So off to the kitchen I went armed with a recipe and some good music! Three hours and 3 1/2 dozen cupcakes later I emerged looking like I had bathed in chocolate marshmallow. Yes 3 dozen cupcakes!! I didn't think it would make that much. Of course then I finished reading the recipe which said that these cupcakes can be stored for UP TO 2 DAYS!!! Holy cupcake! So off on cupcake deliveries I went. I kept a dozen unfrosted and put them in the freezer for when the cupcake desire hits again!!

Happy Cupcake Sunday!!!

feel better sneak peek

2008-03-28T07:31:00.002-04:00

I think I need to send this card to myself today. My allergies are making me crazy~ who needs to breathe really!?!? I love the new A Muse Dr. Blackwell. She also comes with a first aid bag, but I couldn't find a good place to put it on the card. Have you seen all the other Sneak Peeks from the A Muse gals? What is your favorite so far? I just love this release, so I don't think I have chosen an absolute favorite yet.

Happy Friday

All images, notecards and twinkle stickers are A Muse Artstamps.

Elzybells Class

2008-03-27T19:24:00.004-04:00

I have two Elzybells classes this weekend at Rubber Stamp Fantasy. I am teaching the same class twice and there are a few spots left in each class. So hurry and save your spot before they are gone. You can call Debbie or Gary at (770) 590-8500.

This is one of the cards we wil be making. It uses one of my favorite techniques ~ paper piecing. I look forward to seeing everyone Saturday!!

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

girl scout sneak peek

2008-03-27T07:27:00.003-04:00

I was never a girl scout! I was a Brownie's for about a month before I got kicked out. I couldn't think of anything to do with this stamp. So I was talking to my friend Darcie and she said to make a card about a girl moving up from Brownies to Girl Scout. I forget where I saw this card design, but I thought it would make a good card. I love the way it turned out. The girl scout stamp is part of the release that will be available March 31st.

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

sneak peeks day 1

2008-03-25T20:57:00.007-04:00

OH My goodness ladies and any guys too I guess. I am so so excited about this new release from A Muse! One of my all time favorite A Muse stamps has always been Seattle Girl and now we have a new umbrella girl! And rain to go with her!! I think she would also look cute with Seattle Girl as a mother~daughter. I'll have to try that when I have some fun stamp time. And did you see the sentiment~ I think you are going to be seeing it on a lot of my cards coming soon. It's a good thing to remember on your *off* days.

I stamped the rain in Colorbox ice blue chalk ink, but thought it looked very blah. I didn't want to redo the entire card since it was the last thing I stamped. Out comes my quickie glue pen, I just cover each rain drop and sprinkle on just a bit of ultra fine glitter. I think it gave the card just the *pop* that it needed.

Be sure to check out the blogs of all the other A Muse girls today! There are lots of new wood mount and clear stamps.

Stamp Happy!!

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps, Copic Markers

ETA: I like to call her umbrella girl, but her real name is Rainy Day Lisa!!

caffeine to the rescue

2008-03-24T19:19:00.004-04:00

The other day Geeta and I were bouncing some card ideas around when we thought to use Superwoman with the Coffee Break set. Being the Starbucks addict that I am, I gave her some Starbuck's colors. It looks like her skin and suit are the same color in the picture, but they aren't really. I made her suit to look like the color of cup wraps. I used Versamark for the steam, but it didn't really show up well. Maybe I should give this to one of the Starbuck's people that makes the BEST lattes~ vanilla latte is my drink of choice! What is your favorite?

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.com

Easter Fun trash to treasure

2008-03-22T21:23:00.006-04:00

One of the moms in my class has been saving all these cans for me. At first, I wasn't sure what on Earth I would do with them. But in my class, we collect a lot of trash and turn it into something. I am sure some of those masterpieces finally do end up in the trash, but it's fun to create. I have a plan to make all these cans into a little end of the year gift for my kids. However, I thought I could spare one to make an Easter basket for Connor.

I covered it with some patterned paper from my stash. Then I just stamped his name on a French blue notecard using the A Muse stitched alphabet.

Then punched some holes with my Crop A Dile and tied the ribbon for a handle. Easy beasy!!

HAPPY EASTER

I just had to..

2008-03-16T20:29:00.011-04:00

reorganize ALL my craft stuff. With all the projects I am working on, it was a complete and total mess. I was spending more time finding what I needed for a project than actually making it. I had two things due this week and the piles continued to grow. I ended up working in a tiny square of my table. I couldn't even see my table anymore. So I knew I had to do something and fast! The A Muse gals have been sharing some of their organization tips, so I was inspired. I have quite a few Stampin Up sets, but I NEVER use them anymore. I labeled them and put them on a shelf BEHIND stuff that I actually use. Now if I need them, I can easily find what I want.

It took forever to make all those labels, but it motivated me to organize everything. I found things that I forgot I even had. Sadly I found a bag of purchases that were never even taken out of the bag. Today, however, I went to two craft stores and only bought one thing that I need for a class. My A Muse ribbon collection just keeps growing, so it was all over the place. I found it a new home on top of a little three drawer plastic container. In that container, I put my A Muse accessories, pens and a few odds and ends that I am always reaching for when creating.

I thought I had good storage for all my A Muse notecards. But again it was taking me forever to find what I wanted. I copied Geeta's idea for this one and LOVE it! I love this system because I can easily see what I have and any that I may need to order. I put solid and 4bar notecards in one photo box and patterns in another.

A while back, my dad built a shelf for my A Muse stamps. During A Muse A Palooza last year, I had seen one on Jenn's blog and knew that I had to have one. It's made out of some extra wood from another project, so nothing fancy. When I have my dream stamp room, maybe I'll get a really fancy one. I can't show you all of the shelf because I have some *new* A Muse stamps on it. SOON! I got some new clear stamps this week. I used the packaging to make labels for my cd holder.

After all that, I had time to stamp. I got many project done, but can't share them with you just yet!

Happy stamping,

Just in time...

2008-03-10T18:06:00.005-04:00

I finally participated in a Stamp of the Week challenge on A Muse Addicts. When I saw these cards that Heather made, I knew I had to make one for myself. I just loved the simplicity but yet they had that WOW factor. I just love all the A Muse twinkle sticker in a line. I never would have used that many on a card, but I just love the look.

I am trying to get creative tonight and find my muse, but she is hiding. I have some *new* stamps to play with and she won't even come out to play.

All images, notecards and twinkle stickers are A Muse Artstamps.

Have a great day!

quick card, trying threes and new siggy

2008-03-08T20:52:00.003-05:00

Here is a quick card that I made the last time I got to stamp with some friends. It's been so long since I have had a chance to stamp with my stampin' buddies. We are due for some stamping fun soon!

I have my nephew this weekend. I haven't seen him in a couple of months so he has really grown. I can now have conversations with him ~ he is so funny. This morning he was playing with his cars and suddenly stops. What does he ask for? You guessed it, he says "Shell get stamps please" and then proceeded to stamp for 15 minutes. I couldn't be more proud! With all his new vocabulary skills, he has learned to argue with EVERYTHING. I have been counting to 10 alot and trying to remember that he is 3 and is doing what he is suppose to be doing. TESTING BOUNDARIES!

I was doing some blurfing tonight and checked out Katie's blog. She has a new signature on her blog and a "how to". I have seen other bloggers with one, but never took the time to figure out how to make one. So tonight with Katie's easy directions, I decided to make one for myself. Thanks!

Have a great weekend!

Wacky Wednesday

2008-03-05T20:08:00.004-05:00

Today was WACKY WEDNESDAY at school. You just gotta love Dr. Seuss. We bagan today with our Goodbye song and continued doing things backwards all day. Oh did I mention we all dressed wacky~ no you can't see a picture! Wacky Wednesday is always fun, but I am glad it only comes around once a year.

You know I had to come home and make a Wacky Wednesday card. I tried to think of things that are in the book, but couldn't think of anything that I could actually make into a card. Then I remembered this card that Lexi made. It would definitely be a WACKY day if you went stamp shopping and found your stamp store upside down with all the stamps flying out! The bra with wings sure does give new meaning to "it'll lift you up".

Happy Wacky Wednesday!!

All images are A Muse and Elzybells NA, A Muse notecards, Copic Markers.

a quick treat

2008-03-04T19:51:00.003-05:00

I made these cute little treat boxes in less than 10 minutes. Now is a great time to start thinking about your Easter gifts. I used this same box templates to make treats for my co-workers, so I think I need to come up with something new for Easter.

This month's Step it Up challenge over on the A Muse Addicts site is to make an Easter/Spring treat container. If you haven't joined our site, go do that NOW. We have so much fun and there are over 500 members. You don't wanna miss out on the fun, do you??

Images are A Muse and Elzybells, A Muse notecards, SU ribbon, Copic markers

Happy Read Across America Day

2008-03-03T17:34:00.006-05:00

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, every year we have Read Across America Day! Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite authors. Horton is my favorite Dr. Seuss character~ he is such a good elephant, how could you not love him? If you have a Kohl's in your area, you can always get great Dr. Seuss books and stuffed animals this time of year for $5 and all proceeds go to charity. Today as I was reading Horton Hatches the Egg, inspiration hit.

I knew I had to make a Horton card, so I came home and looked through the book again. After looking through my A Muse stamps, I decided to just make the cover of the book. I am not the best artist, but I LOVE my card.

Linda always raves about the Staedtler Triplus fineliner pens. I bought some a while ago, but never used them. I got them out today to draw Horton's nest, more branches and some bushes. Notice how I used the coconuts from the Hammock stamp to make his eggs ~ I just drew the nest around them. Sometimes I amaze myself! There was a lot of white space so I gave Horton a nice sunny day!

If you have children, be sure to read a story to them tonight AND every night!

Have a happy day!!

All images and notecards are A Muse Art Stamps, Staedtler pens, Copic Markers.

I didn't fall off the Earth

2008-03-02T21:04:00.002-05:00

I have just been locked away in my craft room working like a crazy woman! I thought I would stop in and show you a card I made a while back. And if I haven't told you yet, I LOVE these Elzybells chicks. I have a few more projects to work on and then hopefully it will be back to the regularly scheduled blog.

Thanks for all of your comments and emails.

All images are Elzybells and A Muse sentiment, A Muse notecards and ribbon.

challenge combo

2008-02-22T22:42:00.002-05:00

While I was working on all the cards for our challenges, I thought it would be fun to make a card using all the challenges. Easier said than done. I chose the colors and then put the card together. It took forever to decide which stamps. Then when I decided I wanted to use the camper, I couldn't think of what to put with it. I was chatting with Rhonda and throwing ideas around with her. When I thought of making the camper shake. I had to use three sentiment stamps to get this sentiment. I had to use my stamp positioner and I am so not good at using that thing. So I started with world and worked my way backwards. I was so excited that I was almost finished that I forgot to mask the exclamation point from the You Rock stamp. Oh well, you get the idea. Then I added three brads~ of course they are crooked, but it all works.

Now go make your bonus challenge combo card!!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Good things come in three

2008-02-22T22:26:00.003-05:00

Jennie's challenge is to use three of something on your card. I used three twinkle stickers.

All images are Elzbells NA, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

It's sketch-a-licious

2008-02-22T21:53:00.003-05:00

Rhonda, who said that she couldn't make a challenge~ uh huh, made this great sketch for our challenge. I had so much fun making this card. Thanks for the great challenge Rhonda!

All images are Elzybells NA, A Muse Notecards!

you da man

2008-02-22T21:20:00.002-05:00

VMAA is on baby!! Geeta's challenge is to make a masculine card. hmmm don't really make many of these, maybe that's why it's called a challenge. I don't think guys would like a lot of embellies or ribbons, so I kept it very simple. I don't have many manly stamps, so it was easy to choose one.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Happy Friday!!

2008-02-22T20:40:00.002-05:00

I had a four day week at school, but I thought it would never end! I am so excited about VMAA tonight. Don't know what I am talking about? It's virtural stamp night for us A Muse Addicts...hurry and click on the purple rectangle to join the fun and not miss anything.

I was so tired today and afraid I wouldn't be able to stay up long enough for all the fun. So of course I decided to stop at Starbuck's on the way home. There was a line in the drive through, so I decided to go inside. They were SO slow and then the two women in front of me took forever deciding what they wanted. Don't get between a girl and her coffee. There was a man and his teenage daughter in line behind me. He was looking at all the yummy treats and started pointing to each asking if she wanted one. As a teenage girl, she was NOT amused by her dad's antics. Since I talk to everyone, the next time he asked I said YES Please. He laughed and the girl just sighed and rolled her eyes. GOSH I remember being a teenager~ so glad it doesn't last too long. Well I ordered my latte and went to wait for it. Again, they were very slow so I was waiting a while. The guy and his daughter walk over to wait for their coffee and he hands me a brownie. There are a nice people left in the world! Made my day!

So back to my card. Isn't it cute? OK you don't have to tell me, but I like it. This is the card for the first challeng of tonight. So hurry and join so you can particpate in the fun!!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps, Colorbox chalk ink and SU brads.

happy shopping

2008-02-19T15:54:00.004-05:00

You can shop the winter blues away over here. Linda has links to all the new goodies; stamps~rubbah and clear, notecards and RIBBON.
I just love these little rabbits. Did you see their tails? I added a little Liquid Applique to them. This stamps makes me think of "little bunny foo foo hopping through the forest".

I have some of the ribbon, but I NEED all of the colors. What is on your shopping list today?

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps; SU ribbon

another sneak peek

2008-02-17T16:24:00.002-05:00

This stamp just cracks me up. I had another card planned for today, but it was with a stamp you had already seen. I don't think I have seen this one yet on any of the other sneaks. You are checking all the other A Muse team blogs aren't you?? And don't forget to check out the Elzybells blog also. I couldn't decide which sentiment to use with the stamp, so I didn't use one. It can be an anytime spring card. I used my Copics to color in the image and added some new A Muse Surf ribbon.

All images are Elzybells NA, notecards and surf ribbon are A Muse, black ribbon is May Arts, Copic markers and Brilliance graphite black ink.

a simple sneak peek

2008-02-16T11:38:00.002-05:00

I am just loving all these new Elzybells chick stamps. I love sneak peek week because you get to see so many inspiring cards. How many did you find yesterday?

All images are Elzybells NA and A Muse, notecards and ribbon are A Muse.

A quick sneak peek

2008-02-15T07:56:00.002-05:00

Here is another A Muse sneak peek for you. All these images will be available on the 19th, so start your lists. And don't forget to get some new ribbon. Don't forget to check all the other A Muse team blogs~ I think there were 13 sneaks yesterday. Which is your favorite stamp so far?

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

Happy HEARTS Day

2008-02-14T19:03:00.005-05:00

I hope you had a great day. Remember I told you I was template challenged and it took me a long time to make simple boxes? Well I found out yesterday that it wasn't ME that was challenged; it was my scoring tool. Well that problem has been solved thanks to my great friend Geeta...look at what she sent me. No no, not the armadillo, keep scrolling down! It's the Scor-pal. We have talked about it many times and how much she loves hers. I said I wanted one, but my thinking was I have a paper cutter that scores; why do I need to spend money on that when I can buy stamps? She said she knew I wouldn't buy it for myself, so she got it for me. And boy am I glad that she did. I absolutely love this thing. I can now make 5 boxes in the time that it did take to make ONE!! You may see lots more boxes here soon~ my new little toy has inspired some great ideas. THANKS GEETA

I made all these boxes for co-workers and filled them with Hershey's hugs and kisses.

I have another sneak peek for you tomorrow!! Which stamp do you like the best so far? You are gonna love all of them. The Elzybells chicks are just too cute.

All notecards and images are A Muse Artstamps, Stampin Up ribbon

spring chick~ sneak peak

2008-02-13T20:25:00.007-05:00

NEW STAMPS......NEW NOTECARDS........NEW RIBBON!!!!! Ok I'll stop screaming, but I am just so excited about this new release. And I just love giving you all a little sneak peek! We have new Elzybells AND new A Muse stamps. So I didn't use the new notecards on this card, but I used the ribbon

See the red ribbon....OMG it's new A Muse stitched grosgrain. The colors are just so amazing and bright and vibrant and FABULOUS. I just can't take it. This is an Elzybells stamp called daisy canopy and one of my favorites. Daisy is my favorite flower. I love how coloring around the image with the Cool Shadow marker just makes the flower and egg stand out. The card sat around with no ribbon for a while until I got some of the new ribbon. I wanted to add red to go with the little ladybug, but then it just seemed off so I added a few twinkle stickers to give it more balance. I am just loving this card~ gonna have to make more because I will never be able to give this one away.

Be sure to check out all the other blogs of the A Muse team for more sneak peeks!

Notecards, ribbon, twinkle sticker and sentiment are A Muse Artstamps, Elzybells NA image, Copic markers.

love is for the birds

2008-02-13T20:03:00.003-05:00

When I first saw this card of Julie's, I just cracked up! I am talking laugh out loud funny. I have wanted to make a card inspired by hers, but nothing ever came to me. Well I was looking at my stamps and when I saw the "love is for the birds" sentiment it hit me.

Bossy Elzybells is just funny all by herself, but add some birds pooping on her head and that just doesn't make for a good day for her. OH I just got another idea for a card with her. Maybe I can remember it until tomorrow. I just spent all afternoon making Valentine treats~ more on that tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, you may want to stop by in the morning for some Elzybells and A Muse sneakiness.

All images are A Muse and Elzybells NA, A Muse notecards, Copic markers, Sharpie white poster pen.

I like you berry much

2008-02-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

I have wanted these stamps since the beginning of my A Muse addiction, but I just got them a couple of weeks ago. I never use my corner rounder, so I thought I would give it a try. I added the clear Spica to the middle strawberryThis card didn't turn out exactly like I had imagined, but I think I still like it. What do you think?
Two more days until Valentine's and some sneakiness ;)
All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Valentine Mail

2008-02-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of mailboxes I made for Valentine's. These are so much easier to make now that I figured out that I can punch a hole in the paper and cut a slit to put it over the flag. Before I was taking the flags off~ dumb, I know. I had planned to make all my friends Valentine treats, but I haven't got to it yet. I still have a little time, so maybe I can get something together. Are you making Valentine's? I would love to see them~ leave a comment with a link to your projects. I need so quick and easy ideas.

SU paper and ribbon, A Muse clear alphabet stamps, I am not sure where I got the purple paper

shopper girl

2008-02-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

I went to Archiver's with Kris and Laurie Friday night. Usually when I go, I am not very productive because I get distracted by all the other people. But I actually made 6 cards this time. I love when cards turn out perfectly, especially when you don't have a plan. I had never used the Shopper Girl Elzybells, so I thought I would give her some inky love.

I have 5 more cards from Friday night to share. Psst.....I may also have some Valentine sneakiness for you *hint hint*!!

All images are Elzybells NA, A Muse notecards and ribbon, Copic markers.

A Muse mini treat box

2008-02-08T10:40:00.000-05:00

Do you get the weekly e-newsletter from A Muse? Well, you should! Sign up here.This week's newsletter has the templates for creating some really FAST and cute boxes. Now I am not very good at following the templates. The last one I tried ended up having no bottom and the sides weren't the same size. But Linda said this was easy, so I had to give it a try.
IT WAS EASY. Here is my first attempt.

And then since it was so easy, I had to try another.

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Art Stamps, Copic markers.

Rhonda's has a Step it Up Challenge over on A Muse Addicts. These challenges are a bit more involved than our weekly challenges. The first one is to make a 3x3 card and a holder for them.
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Friday!!!

Happy mail!!!

2008-02-06T20:32:00.000-05:00

Look what I got in the mail today from my friend Kim. You can see the card on her blog, but it's WAY more FABULOUS in person. Thanks for the great card Kim~ it made my day!!

Thanks for your support

2008-02-05T18:18:00.000-05:00

Remember I told you that I was walking in the Breast Cancer 3 Day for the third time this year? Well if you don't; you can read about it here. I have been really slacking on fundraising and training. Walking 60 miles in 3 Days is no easy task. However, every dollar raised helps in the fight against this horrible disease. I am hearing about so many young women battling breast cancer; it really hits home. So a few blisters and sore feet are NOTHING compared to what each of these women face. They are the brave ones. If you have a 3 Day in your city, I am sure you have seen the commercials. I love the one with the girl talking about how everyone thinks she's crazy for doing this, but she says her mom is probably looking down saying " You are CRAZY, but thanks". I often think that I am crazy doing it again. But if I can help save just ONE person; it is completely worth it.

If you would like to donate; I would greatly appreciate it. EVERY DOLLAR HELPS. You can donate HERE

So far, my only donation is from a mechanic shop. Do you think they would appreciate this card? I think they should hang it in the office!!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

You Rock

2008-02-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

I am never a person that sits and makes one card. I usually start making a card, move to something else, then something else etc. and then finally make it back to my card. My cards are always pretty simple but I never know how long they REALLY take to make. So today on A Muse Addicts, Jennie announced the new Stamp of the Week challenge. I just got the Rock Star stamp, so I thought it would give it a try. The biggest challenge of this card was completing it without being distracted. So I timed myself. From idea to completion, this card took a total of 12 minutes! Think Simple Think A Muse!! Did you see my trick? Well really it wasn't a trick, I forgot to add my PLP until after I had made the window. So I punched out part of the red stiped PLP and lined it up with the window. I just love the Magnese blue Copic marker~ makes the perfect jeans. To finish the card, I added some ribbon. See how I tied it a little from the top~ sometimes just changing the placement makes a big difference. Thanks for stopping by!

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

BIG NEWS for A Muse Addicts

2008-01-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

We (Geeta Suggs, Rhonda Maynard, Jennie Moczan, and myself) are PROUD to launch new home for the A Muse Addicts Group. Yahoo is no more!
You must register to join and we request that you supply us with your mailing address and birthday so that cards and such may be sent to you. If you don't want to do that, just fill it in with No Thanks or zeros.We are so excited about this. We hope you can join us over there for lots of things:
* CHALLENGES
* SWAPS
* CONTESTS
* PRIZES (did I mention PRIZES)
* FRIENDSHIP
* STAMPING, STAMPING, STAMPING!COME JOIN US!

Shut Up...it's your birthday

2008-01-30T13:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Julie!! I hope you have a wonderful day.

It's the best when Julie leaves a her famous "SHUT UP....THUD" comment on one of your cards. It always cracks me up and makes my day. So we decided to all make cards and put "Shut up....it's your birthday...THUD" on them. I know I could have just wrote it on the inside of any card, but I wanted to include it as part of the card design. I stared at my stamps thinking forever before I thought of this. It is totally inspired by this card by Julie herself. I never add a design or anything to the inside of the the cards, but this was just so fun!

And here is the inside of the card. This just cracks me up....maybe it's only me but I think it's funny. Hope you like it Julie! Have a great day!

All images are Elzybells NA and A Muse, A Muse notecards

We are less than two hours away from something BIG, so stay tuned. I will post again at 3:00 EST.

double the challenge...double the fun

2008-01-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun last week making window cards for the challenge over on our Yahoo A Muse Addicts group. I had tons of card ideas, but just not enough time to do them. Then Jennie announced the new challenge~ make a pocket card. I haven't made many pocket cards, so I thought I would give it a try. But yet, I still couldn't get the window card out of my head. AHH HAA combine the two challenges for a window pocket card. Finding two stamps that would work well with this was more difficult. Most of the time when creating a card, I choose my stamps first and work from there. I had the card put together before I decided which stamps I wanted. Then I saw this new Elzys and thought they would work perfect together. I am not sure if it is exactly what I had in mind, but I think I like it. What do you think?

We have big things coming tomorrow for our A Muse Addicts group.

Also, I have a very special card to share with you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stamping!!

da bomb

2008-01-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

That's what my classes were yesterday. I had so much fun~ both classes were filled with super fun ladies. We even had some girls that had never stamped~ don't worry I brought them over to the dark side. Hey ladies..I hope you all had fun!

Of course, just when I say that I am tying to post something new everyday I stop posting anything for days. Sorry about that~ life got in the way of my blog.

Here is one of the cards we made in my class yesterday. It was inspired by this card by Erika. For the bomb with the sentiment,I just stamped the bomb using the stamping off method, colored it and stamped the sentiment right over the bomb. I then punched it out with a 1 1/4 cirlce, stuck it to an A Muse creative candy cirle, glittered the edges and popped it up with a pop-up dot. I think that's the only thing I changed about her card~ I just had to make it sparkle for my class. Thanks for the inspiration Erika.

All images, notecards and creative candy are A Muse Artstamps. May Arts ribbon and Copic markers.

did you notice...

2008-01-22T19:26:00.000-05:00

I have posted something new everyday, except one, for the past two week. But some days I posted twice, so I think that makes up for missing a day. Well that was a little challenge I did for myself. It seems to be working and now I am getting in the habit of posting more.

This card was a mess-up when I was making the cuckoo clock. Notice it's the same card turned the other way. Just switched the stamps.

My problem is however that I waste a lot of time. There are so many things that I want/need to do, but never find the time. Do you know those people that seem to have more hours in their day? They get more accomplished in a day than I do a week. Now I don't need to go to that extreme, but I would like to manage my time more effectively. I don't know that it's in my chemistry. I remember during my school days I always got in trouble for daydreaming and not staying on task. My report cards always said " Michelle needs to stay on task or Michelle needs to control her talking". So really not much has changed since then. I always thought my kindergarten teacher liked me the best because I always got to sit with her and I had my own "special" seat. Now as a teacher, I realize she was just trying to keep me out of trouble and save herself from the headache I would cause.

I have tons of time in my day after I get home from work. Yet, some days I barely get anything done. I have tried lists~ the paper and pencil old school kind. That did help me remember what I needed to get done, but yet I still waste alot of time. I'll hop online to check one thing and then an hour or more later I will remember what else I was going to do. I have things that HAVE to be done~deadlines and such~ but I wait until the VERY last second to do them and then stess out. I was always the one in school that would start the night before it was due. Why do I cause myself such stress?!?!

So I need your help. Do you have any tips or tricks on time managment? Is there a good book to read that would give me some pointers. ANYTHING!! Thanks guys...I know you'll have some good advice.

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps. Copic markers.

retro window

2008-01-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

I just love making these window cards. Since it's the A Muse Addicts challenge this week, I have a really good excuse. This card is so not my usual style. Recognize the frame? It's an A Muse red bold stripe notecard~ I just colored the white stripe orange. I didn't really have a plan for this card, I was just playing. Like my ribbon? hmmm now where did I get that? Oh yeah you're right. I made it with my Copic markers!! Have you noticed that the posibilities are endless with this? And my little stamping tip was in the A Muse newsletter last week. The markers do bleed on the ribbon some, so you can't really make polka dots or other designs. But if you are careful, you can get a pretty good stripe. I may never buy ribbon again....ok just kidding, but I will buy a lot more white ribbon now. Thanks for stopping by.
All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps, Copic makers and SU ribbon.

where's the cake??

2008-01-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just crack myself up. This is a cute card huh? But what sentiment should I use with it? hmmmm on goes my thinking cap. I look at my shelf of A Muse stamps trying to think of something to go with it. Then I think that I could see bossy girl on her birthday demanding her cake and present. Maybe I was the inspiration for bossy Elsybells ~ no comments from you Kris or Geeta!!

So this is what I came up with. I think she would totally have a butler. And of course she would be yelling at him if he showed up without cake. Remember those Wendy's "Where's the beef?" commercials. Who cares about the beef...bring on the cake!!

All images are A Muse Artstamps.

from trash to treasure

2008-01-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

After altering the Altoid tin, I have decided to start a trash to treasure series. Darcie gave this tea tin that has sat on my desk for days just waiting to be made into something new and beautiful. I just couldn't think of what to make it into. I kept looking at my stamps and trying to make it into a Valentine tin. Then it hit me ~ I didn't HAVE to add anything stamped to it~ SHOCKER I know!! So I got out my new SU paper and decorated and added a ribbon and bow. See the pink ribbon? Well you guessed it; it was white and I colored it with my Shadow pink Copic.

This would make a great tin fill with something yummy. And then whoever you give it to can put it on their desk for a little pencil/pen holder! Fabulous I know.

All paper and ribbon are Stampin Up, Copic markers.

Valentine Sparkle

2008-01-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

Come join me next Saturday for a Valentine Sparkle class at Rubber Stamp Fantasy. See schedule at top of page. We will make 5 fun sparkly Valentine cards. This card also fits in the Yahoo challenge this week~ make a window card. If you haven't tried one of these cards, now is the perfect time and you can share it with everyone in the Yahoo group.

All images, notecards, ribbon, twinkle stickers are A Muse Artstamps.

woot woot they are here

2008-01-18T15:52:00.000-05:00

The Elzybells friendship colletion is here. I am absolutely loving this entire release. You can order them if you go here...

ELZYBELLS

All images are A muse and Elzybells NA, A Muse notecard and May Arts ribbon.

A fish tale

2008-01-17T19:58:00.000-05:00

So I always have a classroom pet. I have had a snail, hermit crabs, a rabbit, a hamster(inherited it and didn't like it at all) and of course fish. I had Swimmy for over two years, but sadly he died last week. But we decided to make it a learning experience and go on a field trip to get a new fish. Yesterday was our trip. We picked out two Betas. I knew you couldn't put two male betas in the same tank, but they told me we could put two females together. I wanted this beautiful male fish I saw, but having two fish was more important to the masses. We get our two fish and head back to school.Their names are Nemo (of course) and Not Norman (based on a book we have). We had just enough time to put the fish in their tank before heading to lunch. Later in the day, I realize Nemo is attacking Not Norman. Oh no this could be a disaster. I decide to watch for a bit to see if maybe they are just getting use to each other. NO such luck! Nemo keeps biting Not Norman and holding her down at the bottom of the tank. So I had to take Not Norman out of the tank and put her back in the container she came in. I explained that our fish weren't playing well together and we needed to keep them seperated~ kinda like they play together sometimes. So today was back to the pet store for me to get a tank for Not Norman. And, you know me, I had to get the fish that I wanted too. He is so beautiful, but I can't think of a name for him.

Please help me decide on a name for him. I cant think of anything. Leave a comment and if I choose your name I will send you some A Muse notecards and ribbon.

sneak and ribbon tricks

2008-01-17T06:31:00.000-05:00

I just love this stamp. As many have said, this entire release is full of perfect anytime stamps. I know this is a stamp that many others used in their sneak peeks, but there is something cool about this card. Do you see it? No?? Well when I was at my LSS, I learned about coloring my ribbon with Copic markers. You know I had to run home and try it. I colored her dress with Copic Lavender and then found some white grosgrain ribbon. OMG it colored so beautifully!! You have to try it

All images are Elzybells NA, A Muse cardstock, Copic markers.

Elzybells sneak

2008-01-16T06:14:00.000-05:00

I just love this stamp. I know that you have seen it on other blogs this week, but I think it is just too cute. I'll try to find a stamp you haven't seen for tomorrow's sneak peek. I used Sakura glaze pen on the shoes; I don't know if you can tell in the pic. Be sure to check out all the other A Muse team blogs for more sneak peeks today.

All images are Elzybells NA, A Muse notecards and ribbon

Elzys are on the way!!!

2008-01-15T06:19:00.000-05:00

I just can't get enough of all the new Elzybells. Have you seen all the other sneak peeks? (check A Muse team blogs on right) They have made some fabulous cards. I used the same design as my COTW to make this sneak peek~ forgot to add the twinkle sticker before I took a picture though.

I don't know if I can pick just one favorite, but I am saving one of my favorites for last. So which Elzybells is your favorite so far?

All images Elzybells NA, A Muse notecards, May Arts ribbon.

Elzybells sneak peek

2008-01-14T06:01:00.000-05:00

I told you I made another card using the same design as the other day. I just fell in love with these new Elzybells stamps and the sentiments are just perfect~love the fonts. They all work so well together with the A Muse stamps and sentiments.

Go celebrate you inner princess today!! Have a great Monday and I'll see you tomorrow for another sneak peek.

All images are Elzybells NA, notecards are A Muse Artstamps, SU ribbon and real red cardstock.

I forgot to tell you that the new Elzybell stamps will be released Friday!! I know you are just going to love them all.

crazy times and tags

2008-01-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

So I had the craziest day on Saturday. I needed to go to Rubber Stamp Fantasy. I had the plan to go early before they got busy. That didn't happen. They were a bit busy when I got there, so I just looked around for a while. And you know if I stand around that I will HAVE to find someone to talk to. Well there was a couple looking at the Copic markers by the A Muse display...you knew I would be close to A Muse stamps. So I had to tell her that she should try the Copic markers. She turns around and then says "You're Michelle Clark aren't you?". UM YEAH, but how do you know that is what I am thinking. It was Jennifer (JenMarie) and her DH, she won my blog candy a few weeks ago. What a small world!! HEY JENNIFER!! She didn't have any A Muse stamps, so she got a couple and a Copic marker. Can't wait to see what you make!! The store was insanely busy, so I just hung out and picked up a few things. While I was there, my class sold out and we added another one. What a fun busy day!

I saw these on Emily Giavonni's blog and wanted to try them. I made them for Kris' kids. I hope they like them.

All images are A Muse artstamps, SU ribbon, paper and alphabet stamps on Becca's.

rhonda is in trouble

2008-01-13T18:58:00.000-05:00

She tagged me and not a simple little tag~ Rhonda had to go out with this LONG tag. I have to answer ALL these questions, come up with my own question and tag two people. Hmmm who to tag.

Here goes:
1. Name your 2 favorite Scrapbooking topics: I think I have made 5 scrapbook pages. I would have to say my nephew and traveling.
2. What are the 2 best places you've been to: Puerto Rico and Seattle. You knew I would say Seattle~ Starbucks and A Muse…need I say more.
3. Name 2 things you do everyday: Drink coffee and read.
4. Tell us 2 things that everyone pretty much already knows about you: I am addicted to stamping and coffee.
5. 2 places you wish to visit: Italy and France.
6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I am a clutterbug and I can't concentrate very well.
7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Shelly Belly and Grump~asaurus~rex!
8. Name 2 of your favorite drinks: Mojito and vanilla latte
9. Name 2 interesting (good or bad) jobs you've had in your life: I worked at a bar at a water park and I sold art one summer.
10. What are 2 things you would like to learn: A new language (French or Italian) and a belly dancing class with Rhonda.
11. What 2 things would make your scrapping/stamping workspace work even better for you: More space and More space!!
12. What are 2 of your favorite stamp companies: A Muse and Papertrey ink!
13. What are your 2 favorite stores: Target and Old Navy~ When I go to the A Muse store, it will be my favorite.
14. What are your 2 favorite accessories to stamp/scrapbook with: Ribbon and glitter
15. What are your 2 favorite occasions to make cards for: Halloween and Valentines
16. What 2 times are the best for you to get stamping done: Late at night and weekends.
17. What are the last two cd’s you bought or two artists you downloaded: I don't remember the last time I bought a cd or downloaded anything.
18: What are your two favorite colors: Green and orange~ they change all the time though.

My question:
19. What are 2 of your favorite things to wear: Jeans and I am obsessed with coats~ I have more coats than I do shoes.

Now to tag others with all this fun: Geeta and Julie

It's hip to be square

2008-01-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

That's this week's challenge over on our Yahoo A Muse Addicts group. It's a very simple challenge since the A Muse notecards are square. So YOU have no excuse not to join the fun. And if you haven't joined they group....well there is no reason for you not to, so go do that now........

Ok now that you have joined the group I can continue. This card is for Kris, who seems to think I use pink all the time. But I don't. Since Valentine's day is coming soon, I thought it would be ok to use some pink. I made another card using this same design, but I can't show it to you yet. It has one of the new Elzybells stamps on it. Can I just say one thing about the new Elzybells release? OH MY!!! Stay tuned on Monday for a sneak peek.

All images are A Muse Artstamps, Stampin Up Cardstock and ribbon, Copic Markers.

R&R

2008-01-11T18:04:00.000-05:00

I know I just had almost two weeks off from work, but I really don't think you can have good quality R&R unless you are away from home. I could really use a nice vacation. I think I am one of the few people that wouldn't choose a nice beach as my vacation spot. I would rather go somewhere with lots of places to see and things to do. Spending the day on the beach bores me after a few hours. Ok so enough about my vacation choices....that really wasn't the R&R I was refering to in the title.

Reuse and Recycle. So my friend Darice, had these yummy Altoid sours~ boy do they make you pucker. Then when she finished I asked if I could have the tin. Her answer~ "Is that ALL you think about?"...well yeah is there anything besides crafty stuff to think about. She is one of those OTHERS(non-crafty). But what do you wanna bet that when she sees what I made with her garbage she'll want one too!!

I thought this would be a perfect Valentine container. They would be great for teachers or your child's classmates. They are super simple to make~less than 10 minutes.

All images are A Muse Artstamps.

Flower challenge

2008-01-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

So I decided to do a different challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. I have only done sketch challenges, but decided to try the way to use it challenge. It is a challenge to use your flowers. I don't know about you, but I HAD to have all the Primas. Of course, I had plans to use them ALL however I now just have many barely used jars of flowers. And yet I only used one little flower on this card. I should now try to use some more of my flowers on projects.

All images are A Muse Artstamps. Regal Rose and Real Red cardstock from Stampin Up.

Quickie

2008-01-08T17:50:00.000-05:00

This is SO not one of my best creations. I realized that I hadn't made a card for the January swap when I was organizing everyone's cards~ so off to create I went. I quickly made these and sent them off. I don't really know what I was thinking, but I thought they were cute when I made them. Oh well. I asked everyone to use their favorite A Muse stamp to make cards for this challenge. I chose Vespa girl; not that you can really choose a favorite, but she is one of mine.

All stamps, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

You've got mail

2008-01-07T13:35:00.001-05:00

These little mailboxes were very popular last year during Valentine's. But of course, I missed the wagon and when I finally decided I wanted them they were all out. I wasn't going to let that happen again. So as soon as I got word they had been spotted I ran to Target. The have pink, red and white, but I only got white ones~ all they had of course. I used some left over SU paper from last year and some of their chip board. Then personalized it with a clear alphabet stamp from A Muse. These are so easy and fun to make.

ETA: When you decorate these mailboxes, you have to carefully pop off the flag before adding the paper. They are easy to take off, but if you aren't careful you will bend the mailbox; making it difficult to put the flag on again.

love blooms

2008-01-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Each month, Julie gives the A Muse team a fun little project. This month was to make a fun interactive Valentine. I have wanted to try all the fun interactive cards and projects on SCS, but just never get around to it. So I looked at all the projects and found the diorama card. Being the simple girl that I am, I decided to give it a try. I think it turned out rather cute. I just love the people stamps from A Muse, especially Mikey(Andrew)

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps; Copic Markers; Brilliance Graphite Ink.

Stay tuned for my book of the month for January.

MOOOO...

2008-01-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

I am a COW!

Ok so it's really COTW, but Julie calls it COW and I think it's just so funny~er. Don't know what I am talking about?? Then I guess you don't get the A Muse newsletter. Go HERE and sign up to get it!! One of my cards was the Card of The Week this week! I am so stoked about it.

HERE'S MY CARD!

WOW Wednesday

2008-01-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

Today really didn't begin as a good day. It was back to work day after a long vacation. I really missed hanging out in my pj's drinking my coffee and watching tv for an hour before I started my day. I know I said that I don't really make resolutions, but I tried something today. I am the kinda person that does about 453 things at one time~ I just made up that number. But really, I will start a something, think of something else go do that and get distracted by 27 things before I get back to the original thing. I remind myself of the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book. Well today, I had a list of things to do when I got home. Most always I have my laptop on my table while I am crafting. Today I decided to JUST do one thing at a time. HOLY CAT!! What would usually take me hours to do only took an hour. AND I even did some things that weren't on my list. I actually participated in a sketch challenge over on SCS on the day it was posted. Sometimes I amaze myself.

And I have been stuck at 252 on the Stamping Top 50. I know it seems silly, but I am so excited that I have now moved WAY up!!

Oh...did you notice the top of my blog. I have a class scheduled at Rubber Stamp Fantasy. It's gonna be so much fun. We get to play with glitter and all things sparkly. So if you are in the area, come on down you're the next contestant on Michelle's Great Class!

Ok that's all for today because I am obviously losing my mind!(if i ever had one)

All images,notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

going for a spin

2008-01-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

Jennie is in charge of all the great challenges on our Yahoo group! This week she asked Geeta, Rhonda and I to make a card using the new Cup and Saucer image in a different way than just a cup of tea. I tried not to complain too much~right Geeta, but what else can you do with a cup of tea. You can always make it into a cup of coffee or hot cocoa, but that seems about the same as just a cup of tea. Well then an idea came to me; make it into a teacup ride. Then came the work of actually making this into a reality. If you know me, you know that I like to make simple and quick cards. This was not going to be one of them.
Well here is my first attempt at this card. It's cute and gives you the idea of a teacup ride. But I wasn't completely happy with it. I left it sitting on my table in hopes that I would think of a way to make it better.

Then I went to lunch with Kris and was telling her about this teacup card. And it hit me~ make the teacups spin. So back to the drawing board I went. I played around with a few different ideas until I finally came up with this.

I thought about making each teacup spin seperately, but didn't. But of course, I am now thinking I may need to make another one with spinning teacups. You can't really see it in the picture, but the base of the card is the cottage green pinwheel notecard. I stamped "smooches" on the inside to make it the perfect card for your valentine. The blue circle spins. Thanks Jennie for the fun challenge. It really stretched my creativity. And here is the card in action.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Happy New Year!!

2007-12-31T14:11:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make a New Year's card, but really didn't think I had any stamps that would work. Geeta and I were chatting when I realized I could make a party card. What says New Year's more than that midnight kiss? I had the card all made when I realized that I had no sentiment to go with it. I sat staring at my stamps thinking of all the typical New Year's sayings. When I saw these two sentiments, I knew they would work perfectly together.

I am not big on New Year's resolutions. I am always trying to find better ways to organize stuff and live with less stuff. So yesterday, I did a lot of cleaning, organizing and getting stuff ready to take to Good Will. What are your resolutions for 2008?

Have a happy and safe New Year's!!

book list

2007-12-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

I vaguely remember a time when I would read many books. Sometimes I would read a book in one day. Then along came this stamping hobby and reading books went on the back burner. Don't get me wrong, I still love reading. However, when I finish stamping and sit down to read I seem to fall asleep. I have been reading one book for the last 6 weeks. I miss the days of getting into a book and not being able to put it down. I haven't found a book like that lately. So I would like your help. One of my goals for 2008 is to read one book a month. To do this I need to find great books that will keep my interest. Do you have any great recommendations? I would love to hear your list of must read books. Please help me make my 2008 book list.

A Muse Challenge

2007-12-29T13:42:00.000-05:00

This week's A Muse challenge is to use your stamps in a way they may not have been intended for. Of course, I had to pull out one of my favorite A Muse stamps~ the hammock. I am sure everyone that is experiencing all the winter storms across the nation would much rather be on an island somewhere. Notice how the design of the ribbon matches the pinwheel notecards~brilliant huh. And being the geek that I am, I had to line up the sentiment punch with the lines of the brown notecard.

Here is a close-up of the images. I added a little snow to the top of the tree with Liquid Applique and glittered the island. Gotta have sparkle. I don't have the Marvy Uchida rectangle scallop punch, so I just glued two square punches together to make the size rectangle I needed.

Image and notecards are A Muse Artstamps: sentiment is Elzybells

ETA: I stole this idea from Kris. But did you see the card she made?? No, because she doesn't have a blog OR a gallery. So until she gets one I guess I will just steal her ideas.

The Michelle-tini

2007-12-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

The Recipe For Michelle

3 parts Charm

2 parts Daring

1 part Tease
Splash of Delight
Chug!

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

snow much

2007-12-28T18:55:00.000-05:00

These are the cards I made for all my teacher gifts. Unfortunately, I stacked them up and many of them had smashed snowballs. Here in GA, we hardly ever get any snow. I always want just a little, but when that happens here the entire world stops so it's really not worth it. It does humor me that even if the weather reports mention snow, grocery stores run out of milk and bread. People must think they will be snowed in for weeks.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Notes from Santa

2007-12-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

I spent Christmas morning with my nephew and the rest of my family too. He was so excited that Santa came to his house and left presents. He kept saying "Santa gave Connor this" and pointing out everything. He told me about leaving cookies for Santa and reindeer food for Rudolph and friends. Well later in the day, I was rummaging through the kitchen looking for a snack~ because I eat 24/7. And what did I see? A napkin with some writing on it. I picked it up to read it and realized that it was a note from Santa. My brother informed me that Santa probably couldn't find any other paper to use. You know I can't let Santa just write notes on a napkin~ what kind of aunt would I be if I let this continue. So I came right home and made Santa a little notebook to write in from now on. Please Santa, don't use napkins anymore. Next year this can go right next to the plate of cookies. I think I will also make a pen to match and maybe tie it on with a cute ribbon. I think everyone needs one of these to leave for Santa. It's something that can be reused every year and you have one place for all the Santa notes.

All images are A Muse Artstamps. Patterned paper is DCWV glitter Christmas pack.

warm winter wishes

2007-12-27T08:30:00.000-05:00

I made this card a while back, but don't think I have shared it wity you. This is my go-to layout. I seem to make many cards that look just like this~just different images and colors. I am loving the brown and blue color combo lately.

Images are Elzybells NA, notecard is A Muse and Martha Stewart Ribbon.

Addicts Challenge

2007-12-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't been able to partcipate in as many A Muse Addicts challenges as I would like. I don't know how Jennie keeps coming up with so many great ones each week. If you love A Muse stamps, you HAVE to join our yahoo group~ see purple logo on right. We have so much fun. I have made so many wonderful friends. It's great to have a group of people to share with and get inspiration from. This weeks challenge is to make a Winter related card. I decided to try something different from my normal simple cards. I have to keep looking at it to decide if I like it. I still think it needs something. What do you think?

Images are Elzybells, SU Cardstock and DCWV Christmas Glitter Stack patterned paper.

Next year's to do list

2007-12-26T16:35:00.000-05:00

What you haven't made your cards for next year? Ok so I didn't actually send out any cards this year~ I know BAD stamper. My aunt told me she wanted to be first on my list to make her Christmas cards for next year. What better time to make them than now. I have all my Christmas stuff out and the Christmas mood is still hanging around. It's kinda like the after Christmas sales. I had planned to use some pattern paper on this card, but didn't have what I wanted. I used my Copic Grass Green to color the tree and then realized it perfectly matched SU Wild Wasabi cardstock. I thought the A Muse Snowflak stamp added just enough to the card without over doing.

Images by A Muse and SU, Copic markers and Spica glitter pens, SU cardstock.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I spent mine with family at my brother's. Of course that meant playing with my favorite little guy. My parents got him a huge playground for his birthday and Christmas~so fun!! This year was the first year he has been excited about Santa. While there yesterday, I realized something he needs for Santa next year. So stay tuned for the next project for next year.

My dad

2007-12-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

When I first began this crazy hobby of mine, I knew I wanted to make something special for my dad. That was over two years ago and I am just finishing it. I can't even tell you how many times I would start to do something only to put it away again because I didn't like the way it was turning out. I wanted it to be just perfect. . Every idea I had just seemed to be too much. My dad is a very simple man and yet I was trying to make something very complicated. The other day while looking through Two Peas gallery, I saw a page with "My dad, my friend, my hero" on it. That was all I needed~simple as that. I knew I wanted to use the larger picture, but had to search for the others. He must have been the photographer of the family, because I could not find one picture of my dad and I. Then I found the picture of the flags from when he was stationed in Kansas~ it's a Memorial Day celebration. My dad earned a Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam. However, he didn't actually receive his medal until much later. Sadly though, it just got stuck in the bottom of a drawer never to be seen by anyone. I wanted to give him something to honor all that he has done. He really is my hero! I keep wanting to add more to it, but I think I will leave it as is. I hope he likes it.

Birthday Boy

2007-12-22T11:04:00.001-05:00

Last week was my nephew's third birthday. You know I had to use A Muse's new Rocket ship stamp for his card. I just made a very simple card using Liquid Applique for some smoke and Crystal Effects for the window. I took him to Build A Bear for his birthday, so I wasn't really going to get a gift. But then I happened to find some rocket ship pj's at Target and just HAD to get them. He looks so cute wearing them~ not that he isn't cute all the time. So since I had a gift, I had to make a gift bag and I used his ornament for the gift tag~ smart huh.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Tagged again

2007-12-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

I really have a ton of things to do and on that list isn't a game of tag. However, that being said if I don't do this GEETA won't leave me alone. And really, who wants to hear random things about me~ everything is random. So here you go Geets.

The rules of the game:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Here are 7 random things about me that you are just dying to know.

1. I am going to begin Italian lessons soon. Why ; you ask? Why not? Italy is my dream vacation, so I want to be ready when I get there. Am I planning to go soon? Probably not, unless someone out there wants to invite me?? Anyone??
2. I want to move to a different part of the country.
3. I talk to people in line at stores. Wait until you see the benefits of this. I am getting something new from talking to strangers. A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet. Hi Trish!
4. I talk all the time, but sometimes I just need absolute silence.
5. I don't really like Christmas Music.
6. I hate Summer. I prefer Winter.
7. I love rainy days. It gives me an excuse to stay home and relax. Or go to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha and read a book.

Now to tag 7 people.

1. Doris
2. Pat
3. Nicole
4. Nancy
5. Tracy
6. Michelle
7. Jenna

Ok all done. Your welcome Geeta!! ;)

Winner and a Card

2007-12-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

And the winner is.....

JenMarie said...
Oh I just LOVE your penguin ornament!!! Penguins are just the best!!!I'm not blogging but I LOVE reading stamping blogs. I have learned so much from them and have seen my work improve quite a lot this year from all I have learned.

Please send me your snail mail address, so I can get your goodies to you.

I just love this new burglar stamp. I added the scalloped line stamp for extra sneakiness.

My favorite stamps in the new release are the Rocket and To the Moon because they remind me of my favorite little guy. What are your favorites?

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

My cup of tea

2007-12-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

I am from the South, but I hate iced tea. I just started drinking hot tea and can't get enough. At Starbucks, we discovered a yummy TAZO orange tea that I now can't get enough of. When I saw these stamps, I had to make a card with tea inside. I scored and folded an A Muse 4 bar notecard and then added a slit in the back to hold the pack of tea. It doesn't show up well in the picture but I traced the edge of the plate with a Silver Copic Spica pen. These pens are the mostest sparkliest ever!! I hope you have enjoyed all the sneak peeks this week. I have one more coming! The new stamps will be available on the A Muse site today! Make your list or just order one of each~ you won't be disappointed with any of the stamps.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Psst....go here now!!

A singing sneak peak

2007-12-13T07:35:00.000-05:00

Ok you thought I was gonna sing didn't you. I will save you that torture. Only 5 year olds can really enjoy it. I just love this little bird and I used the musical notes from the Icecream truck. Don't you just love the fonts A Muse uses for the sentiments.

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

Another Sneak Peek

2007-12-11T21:28:00.001-05:00

This is the first card I made with the new stamps. I just love these cupcakes. I combined two A Muse sentiments to create the sentiment for this card. This was the first time trying it and I just love the results. With this card, I just began creating with no plan. I began with the image and just kept adding until I had it exactly like I wanted. I colored the image with my Copic markers~ oh how I love those markers and Copic Spica glitter pens.These Spicas are the most glittery pens available. I added a little glaze to the cherry on top.I am really happy with the card.

I hope your are enjoying all the Sneak Peeks this week. I am having so much fun sharing the new images with you. They will be available on the A Muse site Friday. Start making your lists...really you'll just want all of them.

All images, notecards and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps.

Paying it forward

2007-12-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

Tis the season of giving. I have seen this on a few blogs, but always missed my chance to participate. I was so excited when I saw it on my friend Jen's blog~ Simply Inspired. If you haven't seen her blog, you MUST go check it out now. And be sure too look at her Christmas cards, they are amazing!

So here is where the fun for you comes in. You must have a blog to participate . If you are one of the first 3 to leave a comment here, you agree to “pay it forward” to 3 others on YOUR blog. Please leave me a link to your blog in your comment, so I can contact you. I hope a few of you will play along. The first three that wish to participate & leave a comment here, will be receiving some crafty/stamping goodies from me.

Ornament Blitz #11 and a Sneak Peek

2007-12-10T20:51:00.000-05:00

The Rocket and To the Moon stamps are two of my favorites of the new release. When my nephew was a baby, as I rocked him to sleep I would whisper "goodnight , I love you to the moon and back" and it continued as he got older when we said goodbye. He is now turning three next week and tells me "luv you shell, moon back". It melts me everytime. Each Christmas I have bought him an ornament for his tree. I have been looking, but haven't found just exactly what I want. I had the idea to make an ornment with this chipboard letter circle thingy~ I already used the letter for his scrapbook. I sat and stared at all my A Muse Christmas stamps trying to decide which to use for the ornament. DOH!! The Rocket and To the Moon to the rescue. I also added the globe stamp. The back is the new A Muse 4 bar polka dot notecard with the globe stamped on it. I forgot to take a picture and it's too dark now, so I will add it later today.

Don't forget to check this post for a chance to win!

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps

Ornament Blitz #10, praises to the crop and 10,000 visits

2007-12-10T19:16:00.000-05:00

I know you think that I have gone crazy, but it will all make sense. So here is today's ornament. Is that penguin not the cutest thing hiding under the Santa hat? Well this wasn't my idea. I saw it on the blog of another A Muse girl, but I can't find it now. Please let me know if it was yours, so I can give credit where it is due. I looked all over my craft room to find something new and creative to make an ornament with. I sacrificed the lid of a jar of Primas. So far my Crop-A-Dile has really only been used to set eylets and some holes in chipboard. I was a skeptic and didn't think it would punch through this thick metal lid. Boy was I wrong~ cut through like butter. If you don't have one, go here NOW!!

So on to the blog candy! I can't believe that I have had 10,000 visits to my blog. I began my blog with one reader and that was only because I would tell her to go check it out. Then I think she started feeling sorry for me, so she started leaving some comments. I began participating in AMUSEAPALOOZA and things took off. I got to know some of the other participants just from the comments we left on each other's blogs. I bit the bullet and hosted my first swap on SCS. Many messages later, I began the A Muse Addicts Club thread. And of course we had to have a Yahoo group. It just amazes me that one little blog has allowed me to meet so many friends from all around the world that would have otherwise been strangers, but now they are FABULOUS friends. Thanks girls!!

What has blogging given you? I would love to hear your stories of how either writing your blog or reading others has enriched and/or inspired you. Leave a comment by Friday at 9pm EST.
I am also throwing in some A Muse ribbon to the prize pack ~ forgot to put it in the picture.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an ornament and sneak peek ~ all in one!

ETA: The Penguin idea was Lexi's. Thanks Penny !

A Muse Sneak Peak

2007-12-09T19:48:00.001-05:00

I am so excited to share the new A Muse Valentine release with you. Linda and the crew have outdone themselves again. The images are so cute and the sentiments are just perfect. Stay tuned this week for more sneek peaks.

All images, notecards, ribbon and twinkle stickers are A Muse Artstamps.

Ornament Blitz #9

2007-12-09T14:48:00.000-05:00

Here is my first monogram ornament~ for my favorite little guy of course. I used my new stitched alphabet stamps. I am working on another monogram ornament, but it isn't cooperating very well. The weather is too nice to stay focused inside. I have taken my dog for two walks and it's only 3 o'clock. I need to take her on longer walks so I can get ready for the 3Day. I did get my first donations for that recently. Very exciting since I don't usually start working on fundraising until February or March.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Ornament Blitz #8

2007-12-09T09:40:00.001-05:00

Another super simple ornament. The kiddos could even make these ornaments. I hope you are all having a great weekend. The weather is so nice here, that I am headed outside for the day. Can't beat temps in the 70's in December.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the sneak peek. Don't forget to check out all the other A Muse team blogs!

All images are A Muse Artstamps. Colored with Copic Markers.

Ornament Blitz #7

2007-12-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

I know I am a bit behind on my daily ornaments. I am trying to get all caught up this weekend. This lid has been laying on my kitchen counter just waiting to be thrown out. But I kept thinking that I could make something with it. And finally, it came to me~ an ornament of course. I added some liquid applique between the scallops for a little snowy~ness. Yes that's a new word.

2 more days until the big A Muse sneak peek!

And wonderful 10k blog candy coming soon!!

All images are A Muse Artstamps.

100 more..

2007-12-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

visitors to my blog before I hit the big 10,000 visits. How amazing is that? Thank you all for visiting and your great comments. I hope that I inspire you to make your own cards, if you don't already. You have all given me so much inspiration and encouragement. So I want to show my appreciation for all of you with some wonderful prizes. As soon as I hit 10k, the party will begin. So stay tuned this week for some fun prizes.

Yeah yeah; I know that I am slacking on the ornaments. I will update soon. I have to finish some assignments tomorrow and then I will be back to ornaments. And don't forget on Monday I may have some sneaky peaks for you!!

Ornament Blitz #6

2007-12-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

Another quick simple two sided ornament. I need to get a small tree and make an A Muse Christmas tree this year.

The holiday season seems to get more busy each year. I have a never ending to do list; as I am sure you all do.

Guess what tomorrow is?!?!?

Images are A Muse Arstamps, May Arts ribbon and Copic markers.

Ornament Blitz #5

2007-12-04T07:59:00.001-05:00

Here is my ornament for yesterday. My crazy internet wouldn't work, so I had to wait to post this morning. This ornament is so simple; just punch out 8 scallop circles, fold in half and glue together. No stamping.

All paper and ribbon are SU.

Ornament Blitz #4

2007-12-02T15:19:00.001-05:00

Another simple two sided ornament using A Muse stamps. I like ornaments that are two sided because they always seem to get turned around on the tree. I adhered the Cottage Red Argyle notecard to both sides of a piece of chipboard and then just stamped the image on white, glued it on and added Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by. OOHH.....did I tell you? I have a little sneaky peaky coming your way soon!

All images, notecard and ribbon are A Muse Artstamps. Copic markers- Manganese Blue, Cool Shadow, Sand and Grass Green.

Ornament Blitz #3

2007-12-01T18:35:00.000-05:00

This ornament took less than five minutes. I punched two blue and one white scallop oval with my Marvy punch and stamped the image on the white. I then used my Coluzzle to cut an oval out of one of the blue punches. Then there was just coloring and putting it together.

All images are A Muse Artstamps. Images colored with Copic markers.

Ornament Blitz #2

2007-11-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

So this ornament is much cuter IRL. This is the best of 10 pictures; I just couldn't get it right. I used my MM tag maker for this one. This was a very quick ornament. These little paper ornmanents would look great hanging from a bow on a gift.

All images and notecards are A Muse Artstamps.

Ornament Blitz #1

2007-11-29T18:33:00.001-05:00

Here is my first of many ornaments this year. My plan is to post a new ornament everyday until Christmas. Simple quick ornaments are my favorite, but I will try to add in a few complex ones for variety. I have been making cute ornaments using pattern paper this week.
This ornament was super quick and easy. The worst part was cutting out the stamped image; Snowman Wreath from A Muse. It is a two sided ornament and the snowmen on both sides spin around~so fun!

All images are A Muse Artstamps, colored with Copic spica glitter pens.

Is there anything cuter?

2007-11-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

So if you haven't heard, the southeast is in a very huge drought. I live about 10 minutes from Lake Lanier. I had my nephew, so I decided to take him to play in the sand. We built castles for what seemed like forever. He just loved running around with all the sand saying "big sandbox". The funny thing about this picture is that he should be over 5 feet under water. There are suppose to be three islands, but now they are all connected. We walked around all three of them. I couldn't believe he didn't ask to be carried since we probably walked over a mile. The drought watch is all that is on the news here these days, but until you see it like this it doesn't register exactly how bad it is. I am trying to do my part to conserve water.

SPARKLE DESIGNS

I'm moving

Party Time

new shoes

A Muse Admirer

a little A Muse love

gotta love the Muppets...

the journey is the reward...

sunset in Paris

rainy day in Paris

Inspired

Cupcakes galore

feel better *sneak peek*

Elzybells Class

girl scout *sneak peek*

**sneak peeks day 1**

**caffeine to the rescue**

Easter Fun *trash to treasure*

I just had to..

Just in time...

quick card, trying threes and new siggy

Wacky Wednesday

a quick treat

Happy Read Across America Day

I didn't fall off the Earth

challenge combo

Good things come in three

It's sketch-a-licious

you da man

Happy Friday!!

happy shopping

another sneak peek

a simple sneak peek

A quick sneak peek

Happy *HEARTS* Day

**spring chick~ sneak peak**

love is for the birds

I like you berry much

Valentine Mail

shopper girl

A Muse mini treat box

Happy mail!!!

Thanks for your support

You Rock

BIG NEWS for A Muse Addicts

Shut Up...it's your birthday

double the challenge...double the fun

da bomb

did you notice...

retro window

where's the cake??

*from trash to treasure*

Valentine Sparkle

woot woot they are here

A fish tale

*sneak and ribbon tricks*

Elzybells sneak

Elzys are on the way!!!

Elzybells sneak peek

crazy times and tags

rhonda is in trouble

It's hip to be square

R&R

Flower challenge

Quickie

You've got mail

love blooms

MOOOO...

WOW Wednesday

going for a spin

Happy New Year!!

book list

A Muse Challenge

The Michelle-tini

snow much

Notes from Santa

warm winter wishes

Addicts Challenge

Next year's to do list

My dad

feel better sneak peek

girl scout sneak peek

sneak peeks day 1

caffeine to the rescue

Easter Fun trash to treasure

Happy HEARTS Day

spring chick~ sneak peak

from trash to treasure

sneak and ribbon tricks